ISLAMABAD: Setting the stage for a second democratic transition a day before the country’s 71st Independence Day, 326 newly elected members of the 15th National Assembly took the oath amid an unusual calm during its inaugural session on Monday.

The opposition parties, which had earlier announced plans to lodge strong protest inside and outside the parliament against alleged rigging in the 2018 general elections from the platform of the recently-formed alliance Pakistan Free and Fair Elections Network, however, remained peaceful.

The oath-taking ceremony took place in a very cordial atmosphere as several opposition members were seen exchanging pleasantries with the legislators belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the party poised to form its government.

MNAs take oath.

PTI chairman and prime minister-in-waiting Imran Khan took the lead in maintaining a reconciliator atmo­sphere when he shook hands with Pakistan Muslim Lea­gue-Nawaz (PML-N) president and his arch rival Shahbaz Sharif and then received Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and former president Asif Ali Zaradri as the father-son duo entered the house amidst desk-thumping by the opposition members. Mr Khan also posed for photos with Mr Bilawal and Mr Zardari before the start of the inaugural session.

Unlike most other members, however, Mr Khan came back to his seat adjacent to the official seat of the prime minister without seeing at any opposition member. The PML-N president met the PPP chairman while going back to his seat after signing the ‘Roll of the Members’, he completely ignored Mr Khan. Mr Zardari had already left the house by then.

The special treatment given to the PPP members by Mr Khan and other PTI members was noticed by most of those watching the proceedings from the galleries, as there was talk about a possible break-up of the grand opposition alliance. “I think soon the PML-N and the MMA will be the only parties on the opposition benches,” said a senior reporter who has been covering politics and parliament for the past two decades.

Reservation over Shahbaz’s nomination

While agreeing to field joint candidates for the top parliamentary offices, the 11-party opposition alliance had finalised a formula under which the PPP and the MMA were to nominate candidates for the offices of speaker and deputy speaker, respectively, whereas the PML-N had been asked to nominate a candidate for the prime minister’s office against PTI chairman Imran Khan. The PML-N later nominated Shahbaz Sharif for the position.

However, the PPP had “serious reservations” over Mr Sharif’s nomination due to his past controversial statements against their leadership, said sources in the PPP while speaking to Dawn.

“We want a different PML-N man as a candidate for the office of the prime minister,” said a senior PPP office-bearer and parliamentarian who remained active in the negotiations with the PML-N. The parliamentarian said the reservations had been conveyed to the PML-N leaders.

The oath to the newly-elected members was administered by outgoing speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, who has also been re-elected from a Lahore constituency on a PML-N ticket. Before administering the oath, Mr Sadiq read out the process of the elections of the speaker and the deputy speaker. He said nomination papers for the elections could be submitted by Tuesday noon, whereas the candidature could be withdrawn anytime before the voting which was scheduled for Wednesday.

The PTI has nominated former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser as its candidate for NA speaker, whereas former leader of the opposition in the NA Syed Khursheed Shah of the PPP will be opposition parties’ candidate for NA speaker.

Later in the evening, the PTI announced Qasim Suri, its MNA from Balochistan, would contest the election for the office of NA deputy speaker against the joint opposition candidate Asad Mehmood of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal. Mr Mehmood is the son of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who this time failed to make his way to the assembly after losing the election in his hometown, Dera Ismail Khan.

The election of the speaker and deputy speaker is held through a secret ballot whereas the prime minister is elected by open vote.

If the process goes smooth, this will be the second democratic transition. Though the previous assembly was the third one that completed its full five-year term, the National Assembly completing its term during 2002-07 had functioned under the military regime of the then army chief retired Gen Pervez Musharraf.

Among those who took the oath as MNAs, there are seven party heads, six former provincial chief ministers, three former speakers, one former president (Mr Zardari) and one former prime minister (Raja Pervez Ashraf).

Besides Bilawal, Shahbaz and Imran, the other party heads who took the oath were Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui; Awami Muslim League head Sheikh Rashid Ahmed; Jamhoori Watan Party chief Shah Zain Bugti and Balochistan National Party chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal.

The three former speakers who took oath on Monday were Dr Fehmida Mirza and Syed Fakhar Imam besides Mr Sadiq himself.

Since the members were called in Urdu alphabetical order, former president Asif Ali Zardari was the first person to sign the roll amidst slogans of “Jiye Bhutto” by the PPP members as well as by the party workers from the galleries where Aseefa and Bakhtawar, the two daughters of former premier Benazir Bhutto, were also present. A similar scene was witnessed when Bilawal Bhutto’s name was called by the NA secretary for signing the roll.

Prime minister-in-waiting Imran Khan also signed the roll amidst desk-thumping by the PTI members and slogans “Wazir-i-Azam Imran Khan”.

And again when Mr Shahbaz went to the rostrum to sign the roll, the house echoed with the slogans “Wazir-i-Azam Shahbaz Sharif” and Dekho Dekho Kaun Aaya Sher Aaya Sher Aaya.

The NA has a total of 342 seats including 272 general seats, 60 seats reserved for women and 10 reserved for minorities. As polls in Rawalpindi (NA-60) had been postponed following the disqualification of PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi and elections in Faisalabad (NA-103) had been put off after the death of a candidate, the elections were held in 270 NA constituencies on July 25.

The results of only 339 NA constituencies, including the reserved seats, have so far been announced while the notification of PPP candidate Fida Dero’s victory from NA-215 (Sanghar), which had been withheld by the Election Commission of Pakistan, had not been issued till Monday evening despite the apex court order.

Mehboob Sultan and Amir Sultan, the two brothers and PTI MNAs from Jhang, did not turn up at the inaugural session due to the demise of their mother. Interestingly, Usman Ibrahim of the PML-N took the oath but left the house without signing the roll of members.

The PTI now has 152 members in the National Assembly after Imran Khan, Ghulam Sarwar Khan and Tahir Sadiq vacated the additional seats.

PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, who had won two NA seats, did not take the oath because he opted to keep the provincial assembly seat. Hamza Shahbaz also retained his Punjab Assembly seat and did not attend the session.

Comments (17) Closed

Imran Khan used to be selected in the cricket team by the selection committee. Today his party has won the election through the help of a different kind of SELECTION COMMITTEE.

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Faiza GR Bhatt

Aug 14, 2018 09:31am

there are no doubts, except denial by the losers!

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SHAHID SATTAR

Aug 14, 2018 09:46am

Please don't compromise on principles, if you want to go for good governance. The corrupt will need protection for their past crimes and will demand protection for the same to provide you with support all the way. As it is, your going for the electables has damaged your reputation. It will be better not to join hands with either of your major opponents just to save your government any where and go for snap elections against joining hands with them.

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Zak

Aug 14, 2018 10:04am

The sher who came was Imran Khan.

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Zak

Aug 14, 2018 10:11am

There are no doubts. Smooth transition, new party, great expectations.

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khanm

Aug 14, 2018 10:12am

I have no contracts with my opponents; just a handshake is enough. Please keep it that way...Dear Imran, you have tried to live with honor, even if it costs me millions of dollars and takes a long time. It's very unusual in Pakistan politics... Few people are trustworthy - a handshake means nothing to them. They feel they're required to keep an agreement with you only if you're successful or they need you.

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Asifnaqvi

Aug 14, 2018 10:40am

During the dharna 2014, Shehla Raza told media that zardari had gone out to meet US vice-president to remind him of the promise of 3 complete democratic terms(starting from 2008). And that no martial-law will be imposed in the meanwhile. So PTI can possibly enjoy its five years. But the question still persists, "will IK have complete five years, wich nobody had in 72 years? "

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diaspora

Aug 14, 2018 10:50am

elected bodies haven't changed a bit from being exclusive rich persons clubs

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Socrates

Aug 14, 2018 10:54am

There were never angels in Pakistan's Parliament and there would never be any in the future.

The people of Pakistan too are not angels that they should be expecting angels in the Parliament. It is simply a question of 'better' or 'worse'.

Let us hope that the new setup will prove better because they have been more vocal about the ills of previous governments and therefore are more liable to closer scrutiny and accountability.

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Anti-Corruption

Aug 14, 2018 10:57am

I have a bad feeling that corrupt Zardari will somehow make it to become a part of the government. He is very shrewd and cunning. If IK doesn't bring back the money Zardari looted, my support for him ends that day.

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Anti-Corruption

Aug 14, 2018 10:59am

@RUMI .. please be loyal to the country, not Nawaz Sharif. Don't level useless allegations. Elections this time around were fair, everyone knows.

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AW

Aug 14, 2018 11:07am

PTI has finally defeated all the evil forces with the support of the Awaam

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Wab

Aug 14, 2018 11:22am

There are no doubts... Why there are Doubts Abound .. don't side with the loosers or anti Pakistan elements... My complete family voted.... the most transparent elections in the history of Pak... if you need proof .. just walk around streets of constituencies from where IK won .... you will come to know the pulse ... you will come to know the popularity of IK

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Saif Zulfiqar

Aug 14, 2018 12:19pm

Forget the past, take actions on those who have looted the country and put the unpatriotic in jail who have and are damaging the image of Pakistan.,

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Jamal

Aug 14, 2018 12:21pm

How do these looters still make it to NA every time with their families? National assembly or dare i say family assembly